GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colo. — A temporary trail to Hanging Lake will open June 25 after the popular hiking route sustained significant damage in mudslides last year.
Located in Glenwood Canyon in the White River National Forest, Hanging Lake is one of Colorado's most popular tourist destinations. The steep 1.2-mile trail to the lake has been closed since July 2021 due to damage sustained after multiple mudslides in the Grizzly Creek Fire burn scar. Officials said in August that the trail had "extreme damage" and would require complete reconstruction.
> Video above from August: Hanging Lake remains pristine after mudslides, but the trail leading to it is treacherous.
Jamie Werner, White River National Forest Stewardship Coordinator with the National Forest Foundation, said crews have been doing temporary repairs to safely reopen the trail this summer.
"We are in the process of starting the longer-term sustainable trail to Hanging Lake that will last for decades to come," Werner said. "The design phase of that process will start later this summer, and we’ll be looking at trail alignment, trail user experience and trail materials to make it as sturdy as possible."
Since 2019, timed reservations have been required to hike the trail during its busy season. Reservations for this season will go on sale Monday at 10 a.m. at visitglenwood.com/hanginglake. The fee is $12 per person.
There will be 615 reservations available per day. Visit Glenwood said there will no shuttle this year, so hikers will have to drive themselves and park in the Hanging Lake rest area.
The Grizzly Creek Fire started Aug. 10, 2020, in the canyon east of Glenwood Springs and burned more than 30,000 acres. The lake itself was spared, but the areas around it in the White River National Forest were burned.
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